PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 62, 6 December 1907, Page 11

PRESS OPINIONS.

y, r ._ . .;. -* ■ • •'■ PUEB MILK. Brioily put, tlio proposals of tho Government': amount to ■this:—The milk intended for'domestic supply must in tho first instance \be sent in to oentral depots, where eachi sample can be at oiice tested. Considering how infinite are tho sources of supply,: s it'is manifest that if'the work is to be effectively dbno without the employment of almost as many inspectors-'as dairymen this is-;the only. , feasible plan. Just as the milk is.test&d for purity at the butter and cheese factories,, it will be tested for houso supply aVthdse oentral depots,;and. tho local vondorsivrill. then. sell it r! under. Governmentguarantee, just as moat is already sold with an abattoir certificate. "The next step is to-prpyide for its conveyance'from the'inspecting depot to the consumer under per■fec'tly-- sanitary conditions. . The hott-10. . scheme, which the.Chief.Healtf Officer advo-cated-was admitted to be theoretically ■ tho best and safest,.'if the/increased expenso it;,. would ; entail could bo satisfactorily met.■.?.• ,On>this: point the.experience of suppliers in;Havrke's Bay' and Tiniaru is encouraging. The additional expense is not found to handicap them out of competition,, being.;met by the increased demand for. a pure .article! It may be taken for granted that the ; ;p"ublic would rather pay a little mo/e, for milk about whoso purity there could be np*: possible'. room for doubtj than for milk of less absolutely unimpeachable quality. The'littJe extra cost would,; after all; be hut a slight';insurance fee to pay to ward otf possiKljfcies of enteric fever. Glass vessels ■ must be on many grounds" preferable to tin ones, and if the Departmeht , insists on.their . use-;; the;, public. will very - generally endorse tho official,policy. . But even the.inspection of the milk snd.it-s otfnyej'ance to" the hovisi , - dootVufldor.. perfectly. sanitary:' conHitioas will avail, littl^i".unless .the..consumers carefully oonstiltV their own health interests, and take' more, care. than, many ,oi ; thenwdo at present that .-.the vessels in receive, and eto're ; .tbe',-nulk. are equally "clean and. sani\ary." Suppljers in large.'towns like Auckland jfcart on. theii--rounds-at.;night, and the milk, Tecepiacles' hare consequently to be put out over; night.' If the'se are destitute of any protbotion. against T contamination, the. milk delivered pure caimofriwhen used be guaranteed.'as, such,. if exposed to insanitary conditions/for/hours ,Wore. . If it could-be managed,'an interchange of cans or bottles of standard -pattern—one supplied by the • vendor >i and Tone '.by the consumer—would seem •the b'ssMblntion of the problem.— "New , ZeafaindoHerald." ■-. .••!'. ~ T3;'vr : ;|,i_ . ' VALITE-RATING, -i _ Butiitsis'::.pos'sSble that principles of rating ''ofcAvhioh the application may produce unsatisfactory;'..results in a city like Wellington, wherefa'tue, attempt .is~ apparently bemgijmade , 'to"cram as many'houses as pos- • stole %ponv ever?--site that is available for bnildjng/purppses,;.-and where a private gardifcis'.a.fijrity, may usefully be-adopted by *|ioroU|h3H;hat" are_ not. congested with population and that include" many vacant piejfes."of;Ja'rfd by their 'JKHimerous - boroughs of this kind hajr&intro&ced the system of rating oh un-implfpVed-'VSlues during the past ten' years, bij, -Mitiddgh none of them has reverted to--thV'B!ffetilh of rating on the annual value, ve that'their experience Has . excited of any , of thorn reepectiiigHhte' "system they have adopted. The. by which a proposal for. , - thelevying of rates on the unimproved value'.iM Tajijd'is supported.is that, the effect 'of,its i ''*adpption will' be to' compel the .buldings , upon vacant land that has'beei" held ■; for speculative purposes. The fallacy.; which underlies this argument is ■ th'atf, the' speculators who own the land are ben'efijed'by-keeping it .'.vacant, the tact being, ppcourse, that it'is to their direct disadvantage to be in receipt of no return ffom.'tHfeSr.property. But the tendency undoubtedly in the eases where rating on unimproved;, values is brought into operation' is,.to '.-discourage ' speculation in land,' arid iri' its.'istead to encourage speculation m buildingß.~-'.'Otago Daity Times, , .' PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM. ■' Bnt; it-is. agreed by experts that the best Welsh'i-teams would, beat .the best Northern Union teams, and as the "All Blacks" vanquished, all the Welsh club teams they mot, it'is/a .'fair, inferonce that they would ..nave defeatedthe Northern. Union clubs' who are now:\ beating tho V All. Golds." ■ This con-firms-the generaL belief in New Zealand that the : . professional team, in spite of all that was claimed for it, was decidedly int'erior*to!the amateurs. At one perriod of their-tour.-the "All. Blacks" showed signs of fatigue,' and the New Zealand public, which had come to regard it 'as an understood thing- that they/. should win -by something like 40 'to 8, noted, with pained surprise,' sooreav in which the winning :'■ margin was very-much smaller.: But the "All Blacks" I numbered only twenty-seven players, and were"'putting .teams of fifteen into the field, whereas-th6 professionals, tfith, thirty men;have, only,to,play thirteen in : each match. They'have, thus,-with more.'than two full teams'to choose from, a mufth bigger margin to' work ' upon than- tneir predecessors. Apart frbm the feeling we all "have, that for the credit'.of■ the Dominion we do not -lite to; see a team of New Zealanders boaton by English club , teams, comparatively few people - are -concerned- with the fortunes oftho.professionals. And for ourselves we regard their frequent defeats with; all the less regret, because they can hardly fail •to discredit ; . professional fooftall. Tho formation of the team was a misfortune from tho point of'view of clean sport, but its ill effects in'that direction will probably be considerably minimised if the English tour falls as short'of-the anticipated- success as seems "Press." ; • :• PUBLIC^ENQUIRIES. We-.do.not know that there is any great need .now''for an enquiry into the management'of Te Oranga Home, The Minister, with admirable candour, , ha-s admitted both the;,graye. charges that have been made against-the institution—-that the inmates are punished with' greater severity than are the criminals,.in,the public gaols, and that they have .'jiohe of tne protection that woiiltl be pro'tided by efficient inspection—arid the public pan frame-, their verdict without going into'-; tK« details. But we strongly protest against .the contention of Mr. Fowlds and his: friends that the cost of such an enquiry as wpisuggosted in-the first instance is a good reason for taking tho assurances of the authorities-on trust. The enquiry should TKitjhSrs cost niore than £50, after making '.a vyry gor.croris allowance for the scr-vitrcs-.or the Stipendiary Magistrate. Of sho fi'v'vprnment had" insisted upon conducting t,ho investigation with all tho form.-ilh-y of a great royal oomlnMsiori'Vi, )uiiii)t'h.-!ve run.tho expenses into ■£jp)-or -CCOO, us it did in the case .of'tho JiunißStrii • "jirjuiry.. Bnt. this would havu h(;ijn - jDi6rf:_lil:eJy-to defeat .than to-help tho owls ',oi • iusliit-o. Mr. Bishor;. could have. obtiiincd'.?ll.tho information that was required ia?3.caiip)e of day'Sj/or oven less, , and his repoii ..(-ci-ulcl iavfi. (hml)odiecl', all the evidence it would ha Vd iipi-ii' necessary t-d print. It; , h.• pr/tV. .»o."Sfl*«ify to, spend a large sum of 'Vsflrioy. to mate an enquiry effective, and Mr. J'owlds' knows as , well' as wo do, that ho is aimfily begging the- question' when. ho talks of the.erponso. However, bis own admis-sions/-as we haTOJast .said, have removed the urgent need for an ( enquiry. It is now for hira to rcmoyp'th'e crying evils to which hn has confessed. '; ;. "..',. ... , The,; decorum of-bpth .morning and evening services m a Garterton cliurch (says a "Wairarapa paper ) t - was -violated on Sunday lapt by the -'antics -of some mice which havo tdjjeii ,u'p .'their ahodo' in the organ. During . tho moHiing address ono of' tho diminutive ..rodents 'crept out -and solemnly soated itself. on the vacant stool of the organist/ where, it remained in an attitude of attention,'''until - tho.- , hymn was. announced. It dieappoartjd at tho approach of the rightfnl ocenpan't/who, summoning up courage; gave tiie cushion a shake. During the evening's 'devotions four mice crept hither and thither, to tho gToa(s consternation of the feminine choristers wliOj to the unsuspecting congreappeared to havo developed an alarmma K«itleßßliese, '